If the Golden Nugget represents downtown at its most pretentious, then Binion's Horseshoe goes to the other extreme, resolutely promoting itself as the definitive downtown gambling hall and nothing more. That ethos dates back to its founder, Benny Binion , affectionately remembered as one of the great Las Vegas characters. Benny's record for violence was exceptional even by local standards: an itinerant Texan horse trader with at least two killings to his name, he ran the criminal underworld in Dallas during the 1940s, before a bloody gang feud persuaded him to re-locate to Las Vegas. Acquiring two faltering Fremont Street casinos, he replaced them with the Horseshoe , which opened as downtown's first "carpet joint" in 1951.
Binion himself lost control of the casino when he was jailed for tax evasion in the 1950s - he took advantage of the interlude to learn to read and write - and never regained his gaming license. However, his family bought it back in 1964, with Benny very much in charge behind the scenes. By the time he died, on Christmas Day 1989, the Horseshoe was the most profitable casino in Las Vegas. To Benny, the explanation was simple: "We got a little joint and a big bankroll, and all them others got a big joint and a little bankroll." The Horseshoe had in 1988 taken over the legendary Mint next door, simply bashing down the party wall, and in the process finally acquired a significant number of hotel rooms.
In the last few years, the Horseshoe has been thrown into turmoil by both a good old-fashioned family feud and a sensational murder. Benny Binion's son Ted had his gaming license first suspended due to his admitted drug use, and then, in 1998, revoked altogether because of his connections with the Mob. Later that same year, he was suffocated, after being forced to take an involuntary overdose, by his live-in lover and her new man, who were caught a few days later digging up $6 million in silver bullion at his desert ranch. Meanwhile, the Horseshoe itself was going from bad to worse, following a hostile takeover by Ted's estranged sister and brother-in-law, who remain at loggerheads with the rest of the family. A cash flow crisis forced them to dismantle the casino's famous display case containing a million dollars in banknotes, beside which visitors used to pose for photographs; the future of its atmospheric, bargain-priced downstairs coffeeshop seems to be in doubt; and they've also been refusing to pay their share of the costs for the Fremont Street Experience.
For the moment, however, the Horseshoe is still in business, and still promoting itself as the place "where real gamblers hang their hats." In fact, once you get past its enormous neon sign, its dim, smoky and intensely serious interior holds nothing to appeal to non-gamblers. Such was Benny Binion's single-minded focus on gambling that he refused to put on live music, saying "I'm not going to let some S.O.B. blow my bankroll out the end of a horn." His greatest coup was to establish the Horseshoe as the permanent home of the World Series of Poker in the late 1970s. At that time, few casinos offered poker, which was seen as having too much potential for fraud and other trouble. Since then, the high profile of the four-week tournament, which takes place in late April and May each year and offers a winner's take of $1.5 million , has encouraged others to follow suit. It continues to operate the highest limits of any casino in town, and possibly the world; you can bet as much as you like, so long as you bet it as your very first stake.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
Copyright © 2006 United States.biz
